Q: My 7-year-old son begged to take piano lessons. At first he was excited to begin and practiced regularly, now it is a constant struggle to get him to practice. He says he wants to play, but I am tired of coaxing him to practice. What should I do?

A: Children at this age are trying out different things and may not stick with one thing, the Help for Families panel says.

“This age is a time for exploration,” says panelist Denise Continenza. “It’s critical to expose a child to different activities. But I don’t know if I would expect a child this age to stick with one thing.”

He ultimately will choose a few activities to focus on, the panel says. Don’t expect him to follow through on everything he tries.

However what’s important here, is he says he wants to play, notes panelist Rochelle Freedman.

“Playing piano must be giving him some level of pleasure,” she says. “So then it’s up to you as adult to help motivate him and reward behaviors that lead to more discipline.”

Motivation can be extrinsic, influenced by external rewards, or intrinsic, influenced by the desire to improve, and few 7-year-olds are intrinsically motivated, Continenza says.

In addition to offering positive reinforcement, you also can help him effectively schedule his practice time, Freedman says.

“Don’t make it into a power struggle,” Continenza says. “Give him some choices. Ask him when he would like to practice. Use ‘when … then: When you practice for 15 minutes, then you can …’ ”

Many adults wish their parents had motivated them more in music lessons as a child, Freedman says.

Another thing to keep in mind is in the early weeks learning a new skill is not a lot of fun.

“It can be pretty sobering for a kid who thinks he can sit down and do it,” Continenza says. “He’s not getting the full pleasure from the activity until he gets to a place where he can play though a song. At the beginning it can be rough going.”

Even if the music doesn’t sound great, reinforce the positive, Freedman says.

“A child looks to his parent to get feedback and appreciation,” she says. “By complimenting him on his discipline you are giving a child a sense of accomplishment, that then gives them that internal motivation. They will have the satisfaction of pursuing a goal and realizing accomplishments.”

You and your son can go to concerts and listen to music together to reinforce his excitement about playing, Freedman says.

Talk to his music teacher. Perhaps a different style of music would inspire him more, Continenza says.

However if your son continues to balk at practicing and it starts to cause anxiety, you may need to revisit the issue, she says. There’s no point in pushing an activity that is creating stress.

“Sometimes children just don’t have the interest and parents need to accept that,” she says.